


The Proposal

by cuddlingqueen



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: F/M, Marriage Proposal, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-03-15
Updated: 2015-03-15
Packaged: 2018-03-17 22:20:56
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,085
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3545846
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cuddlingqueen/pseuds/cuddlingqueen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A little ways into the future, where Barry and Caitlin are already in a relationship. Barry proposes to Caitlin, and she gets a little overwhelmed.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Proposal

**Author's Note:**

> The other night I had a bunch of prompts pop into my head, and this was second on the list. I’m having a lot of domestic feels lately so I hope you guys like it! :)

Caitlin should have suspected something was up when Barry made dinner plans for them at the coffee shop. Usually when they went out to dinner, it was y’know, at a _restaurant_.

But she didn’t question it. Besides, they would probably run into Iris. And she was dying to ask her if she found out if she was having a boy or a girl yet.

So Caitlin put on a nice dress, a little more lip gloss, and was ready head out for their perfectly normal date.

* * *

It was not a normal date.

Barry showed up at her apartment right on time. This was probably the second hint she should’ve picked up on. Barry was _always_ late.

Again, she was just happy to be going on dates with him at all. Finally, after two years of knowing him, not including the coma, here she was, in a steady relationship with Barry Allen, the fastest man alive. And it was going _well_. They were happy. There were setbacks, sure, but they had both decided they wanted this, _needed_ this. Because if you can’t be happy without the mask, then what are you protecting with the mask?

He was wearing his usual black coat and a black beanie to match. He suggested that they take their time and walk there, to which she happily agreed. She always loved taking in the sights and sounds of Central City. And she enjoyed making Barry slow down and appreciate them too. This was one of the ways she kept him grounded; she was pretty sure he knew it too, but he never let on.

Caitlin wrapped her arm around Barry’s as they took the slow route to Jitters.

* * *

They arrived in just under ten minutes. Barry held the door open for Caitlin and she stepped inside. The warm air hit her face and her nose started to defrost. Barry helped her out of her coat and she reached up and took off his hat. They moved in one fluid-like motion; it was routine now.

Iris greeted them at the door and everyone exchanged hugs.

“Wow! Not much time to go now, right?” Caitlin remarked.

“Should I take that as a compliment, or…?” Iris joked. She winced at the size of her belly. She had been feeling self-conscious lately. After all, she only had 6 more weeks to go.

Caitlin smiled. “ _Yes,_ you look great, Iris. Pregnancy suits you.”

“Yeah, you know that whole glowy thing,” Barry waved his hand around, gesturing to all of her, “definitely going on.”

Iris laughed. “Thanks, guys.”

She led the pair over to their usual table.

“The usual?”

Before Caitlin could say anything to the contrary, Barry beat her to it.

“Yep, thanks!” He gave Iris a wink.

Iris raised her eyebrows, acknowledging his signal. She quickly turned her head to cover her excitement and kept walking back to the counter.

Barry and Iris were good at a lot of things: multitasking, caring for other people, fighting crime… But if there was one thing the West Family was not good at, it was subtly.

“Barry… what’s going on?” Caitlin shot a suspicious look at him.

“What… What do you mean?” Barry’s right hand fell from the table to his jean pocket.

He was also a terrible liar.

“You and Iris are planning something. And you were fidgeting with your pocket the whole way here. So, I’ll ask again. What’s going on?” She furrowed her brow and put on her best detective face.

Barry sighed and he knew his plan was foiled. He had planned to do it after dinner, but there was no way she was going to let this go. Once she was deducing, there was no stopping her.

Barry looked over to the counter and nodded. Iris looked surprised, but she quickly passed the drink she was making to another waitress and sped over to the light switch.

Caitlin looked up to the ceiling as the lights dimmed around her and what seemed like a spot light from nowhere was suddenly shining on her.

“Caitlin.”

She looked back down to see Barry kneeling in front of her. _On one knee._

She jumped out of her chair and reached her hands up to cover the audible gasp that escaped her mouth.

The local band that usually played in the corner of the coffee shop was a quartet tonight. She liked the classical music they were playing earlier; it was different than the usual genre. And now they had moved only a few feet away from the couple. _Barry planned this._

“I know things haven’t always been easy. I was in a coma… you lost your fiancé… I almost died _again_ ," Caitlin smiled and nodded along as she remembered all the hardships they had; the hardships they conquered. "But this… _this_ is easy. You and me. You have saved my life, literally and figuratively. And I can only hope to say that I’ve changed your life for the better, too. This past year, you made me the _happiest_ man alive. So, Caitlin Snow… will you marry me?”

She looked around her, wanting to remember this exact moment. Everyone was staring at them. _Everyone._ Some of the faces were familiar though… Joe, Eddie, Cisco, Dr. Wells… had Barry invited all of them too? _Were they all in on this?_

And suddenly, all at once, it was too much. The spotlight, the music, their friends…

“I… I…”

And that was it. The last words everyone except Barry would hear that night from Caitlin.

She ran out the door of the coffee shop, leaving everyone and everything behind. She ran, and ran, and ran, not daring to look back. And she kept on running until she was out of breath.

She froze. She was standing at a street corner at least a mile away from the coffee shop. She dropped to her knees. Her eyes were wet, her nose was running, and she was cold. _Very_ cold. She didn’t stop to grab her jacket. But none of these things crossed her mind.

No, the thing that crossed her mind was how her hand felt empty.

It was silly, but she realized that ever since she and Barry had been together, her hand was never empty. She always wrapped her arm around his, or he would wrap his hand around hers to keep her warm, or she would hold onto the back of his jacket so they wouldn’t get separated in a crowd.

And now it was empty.

She held her hand up and turned it over. _Front, back. Front, back._

It looked so strange to her now. She had been with Barry so long now that she had forgotten what it felt like to be alone. It was the simplest thing, but somehow, it meant everything to her. Right now, she just wanted to hold his hand again.

 _What was she doing?_ Of course she loved Barry. _Why did she run away?_ She should have said yes, then and there, but like the screw-up she is, she ran. _Stupid!_

The tears started building up again. She had to stand up. She had to go back to that coffee shop, no matter how embarrassing it would be. And she had to say yes.

But before she could summon the strength, a hand stretched down in front of her.

“You know you can’t outrun me, right?”

* * *

Barry had never heard the coffee shop this quiet before.

He actually heard a pin drop.

Iris quickly turned the lights back on and shooed away the quartet. Slowly, people turned back to their tables and resumed eating.

She ran, or rather speed walked, over to the heartbroken Barry. He was still down on one knee, frozen in place. She grabbed his hands and gave him a little tug. He followed her lead and slowly stood up. She sat him back in his chair and ran a hand over his back.

“I’m so sorry, Barry.”

He sunk his face into his hands in defeat. Their friends, who had been standing in the corner the whole time, gradually made their way over to him.

After a few minutes, Barry seemed stable and Iris sat down across from him. Her back was starting to hurt. Eddie, who had now made his way over to Barry’s table, knew how to read Iris by now, and took the cue to massage one hand along her back. They exchanged a very common glance between them now, one that said “thanks,” and “no problem.”

Cisco was the first one to blurt something out. Barry expected it to be some remark about how 40% of all partners decline marriage the first time their partner asks or something like that. But it wasn’t.

“Sorry, man.” Cisco reached out and hugged him.

_Who knew Cisco had such a sentimental side?_

Joe, of course, was next to talk. Surely, he would be the one who would know what to do. He always knew the right thing for Barry, sometimes before Barry knew it himself.

“Barry, I don’t know what to say. I’m sorry.” Joe shook his head.

Barry couldn’t believe what he was hearing. The three closest people in his life, and not _one_ of them had said what he expected them to.

“Sorry? That’s it?”

Barry lifted his head up and looked around at his friends.

“I just asked the woman I love to marry me, and she _ran away_. And all you guys can say is sorry? What about the, ‘go after her!’ or ‘I’m sure she’ll come back!’ or ‘better luck next time’?”

Dr. Wells, who had been quiet up until now, finally spoke up.

“Barry, I don’t think you can fix this one.”

And that was the last straw.

“ _No_. Love isn’t just a word we throw around. Love is earned. Love is patient. Love is kind. Love is what I fight for every day. And today is no exception.”

Barry got up and sped out of the coffee shop, leaving his friends speechless behind him. He was going to fight for Caitlin, no matter what it took. Maybe she wasn’t ready to say yes today, but he was dang sure that she was going to say it someday.

* * *

When he finally found her, she was kneeling on a street corner. She was going to freeze to death if he didn’t get her inside.

He reached down to help her up.

“You know you can’t outrun me, right?”

She grasped his hand and collapsed into him. Her hands found his waist and his hands wrapped around her shoulders.

“Barry, I’m sorry.”

“People keep saying that to me, I don’t think it means what they think it means.”

She ignored his attempts at humor. She knew it was just a defense mechanism.

“I guess… I didn’t realize how far along we were. I had no idea this was coming. I was so absorbed in the everyday that I forgot about the rest of our days. And then when the light dimmed, and the music started playing, and I saw our friends there…”

“You freaked.”

“Yeah.” her voice was garbled from the crying.

He ran his hands up and down her back, trying to warm her up. Satisfied that he had, he leaned back to see her face.

“I get it, you’re not ready.”

She shook her head. “No, Barry…”

“It’s okay, I can wait…”

“Barry…”

“I mean, if you still want to…”

“Barry!”

He stopped mid-sentence.

“Yes.”

He furrowed his brow.

“What do you mean yes?”

“Yes, Barry Allen, I will marry you.”

His face lit up like she had never seen before. “I thought you were…”

“You didn’t let me finish. Yes, I freaked, but when I left, when I remembered what my life was like without you, I couldn’t even imagine it. Of course I will marry you. I love you.”

He wiped away her last tear and leaned in for the kiss. This kiss would be one that she wouldn’t forget any time soon. When they finally parted for air, he returned the words.

“I love you, too.”

They stood in silence a few moments longer, until…

“Barry?”

“Yeah?”

“I think you’re forgetting something.”

“Hmm?”

“The ring?”

“Oh, yeah!”

He fumbled the ring out his pocket, almost dropping it, which only made it more endearing to Caitlin. She was the only one who could turn The Flash into a klutz. And she enjoyed it.

He slid the ring onto her finger ever so gently.

It was a perfect fit.


End file.
